New Delhi

Congress leader Danish Ali on Monday questioned the credibility of the ongoing investigation into the Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case, alleging a "cover-up" and urging the Supreme Court to oversee a time-bound probe into the matter.

Speaking to ANI, Ali said, "Look, it has been proven that those who were the watchmen turned out to be the thieves. The theft of offerings is such a grave crime that only the Supreme Court can determine the punishment for it."

Questioning the ongoing investigation, Ali said there was no dispute over whether the theft had taken place.

"As far as the investigation is concerned, one thing is established--no one is denying that a theft of offerings took place. Even the BJP, RSS, and the Trust admit this. The big question now is: who will investigate?" he asked.

He further questioned the impartiality of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Should those who were the watchmen, under whose watch the theft occurred, be the ones to investigate? And should that so-called SIT hand over its report to them? This cannot be allowed to happen," he said.

Alleging a cover-up, the Congress leader said, "The SIT first submitted its report to an ex officio member of the Trust. The Trust itself is calling for an FIR, and the Trust itself is asking for the report. This is nothing but a cover-up. The 'wires' of this donation theft are connected to high-ranking individuals."

Ali also backed Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai's demand for a time-bound probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

"Our President Ajay Rai has demanded a time-bound investigation into the Ram Mandir issue by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The objective is simple and direct: there must be an impartial investigation. Those guilty of stealing the offerings must not be shielded. That is why there should be a time-bound investigation monitored by the Supreme Court," he said.

He further alleged that the members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had been nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned why the Prime Minister had not commented on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on petitions seeking an independent, court-monitored probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan directed the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a status report, including details of its composition, and posted the matter for further hearing next Monday.

Furthermore, an Ayodhya court extended the judicial custody of all eight accused in the Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case by another 14 days. The accused appeared before the court through video conferencing and are scheduled to appear again on July 27.

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The petitions before the Supreme Court seek an independent investigation into allegations that donations made by devotees at the Ram Mandir were siphoned off by staff handling the counting of cash offerings.